Youngsters amongst 31 killed at church honest stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity occasion in southern Nigeria left 31 folks lifeless and seven injured, police told The Associated Press, a shocking development at a program that aimed to supply hope to the needy. One witness mentioned the useless included a pregnant girl and many youngsters.

The stampede at the occasion organized by the Kings Meeting Pentecostal church in Rivers state involved individuals who came to the church’s annual “Store for Free” charity program, in response to Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such events are widespread in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economic system, the place greater than 80 million folks stay in poverty, in response to government statistics.

Saturday’s charity program was supposed to start at 9 a.m. but dozens arrived as early as 5 a.m. to safe their place in line, Iringe-Koko said. One way or the other the locked gate was damaged open, creating a stampede, she stated.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Administration Agency stated first responders have been capable of evacuate the our bodies of those trampled to death and produce them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the area.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the lifeless and offering any assistance they could to emergency workers. Docs and emergency staff handled some of the injured as they lay within the open field. Videos from the scene showed the clothing, shoes and other gadgets meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely identified himself as Daniel mentioned "there were so many children” among the many useless. 5 of the dead children were from one mother, he advised the AP, adding that a pregnant lady additionally lost her life.

Some church members were attacked and injured by relatives of the victims after the stampede, based on witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to touch upon the situation.

The police spokeswoman stated the seven injured had been “responding to treatment."

The “Store for Free” occasion was suspended while authorities investigated how the stampede occurred.

Nigeria has seen similar stampedes prior to now.

Twenty-four people died at an overcrowded church gathering in the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, whereas no less than 16 people had been killed in 2014 when a crowd got uncontrolled during a screening for presidency jobs within the nation's capital, Abuja.

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Related Press journalist Hilary Uguru in Warri, Nigeria, contributed.